Presents
by bloodandcocoa
Summary: Its Christmas time at Silas, and there are presents everywhere! But it doesn't need to be Christmas to give presents and not all presents have to come in wrapping paper. Sometimes the best presents are the ones right in front of cided to turn this into a three shot, just in time for Christmas! Originally started out as fluff but gets sappy.
1. Carmilla

**This chapter is dedicated to charlieismyotherhalf from Tumblr. Thanks for being my texting buddy and fangirling over like everything with me! As promised, here's your chapter!**

**This fic already has established OT3. Because OT3 is awesome and that is apparently all I ever write.**

**Cheers!**

* * *

><p>"What the frilly hell is this?" Carmilla stared, dumbfounded at the package on her lap.<p>

It was early Christmas morning, too early Christmas morning. The sun was barely even up yet, but Laura and soon after, Danny, had roused their slumbering vampire for presents. Wrapping paper was scattered all over the floor. Laura had been insistent on using wrapping paper instead of gift bags regardless of their shape or size. The tiny human had a love for the feeling of wrapping paper crinkling under her fingers and the crisp sound of said paper being torn.

So of course, Carmilla and Danny had wrapped their presents as well, despite all the complaints Carmilla made about how gift bags would be much more efficient.

This made for a very messy floor. Especially when Laura got to Danny's present, which had been wrapped, and then wrapped again, and again, and a few more times for good measure, until it looked like Danny had just used the entire roll of paper.

Carmilla had been content to sit on their makeshift double bed and watch her girlfriends tear sheets of paper apart. Their shrieks of joy and impromptu paper ball fights made the little dorm room feel more like home than any where Carmilla had ever been. She knew that the various trinkets and treasures that she accumulated over her journeys around the world would eventually be useful. Originally she had thought they might come in handy as a means to survive, quick money when times called for it, or bribery, a trade for something else that she actually wanted. Never in her long lifetime did she imagine that these baubles, thoughtlessly collected on a whim, would be traded (after careful deliberation because her girlfriends deserved nothing but the best) for a heartwarming grin and a more than brief peck on the lips.

She had never been much of a gift giver.

Or a gift receiver either.

The last 'gift' that she had gotten left her dead, or rather, undead. Since then, Carmilla hadn't taken well to gifts. She took, frequently and often without permission, but never received.

Her first real present in a long time was when she realized that these two girls. Two beautiful, amazing, wonder girls had given her their life, their love, themselves, completely and undyingly. That realization came upon her in the middle of the night, when she was sandwiched in between two heartbeats. Two hearts beating in sync with each other, so strongly that for a second, Carmilla thought that her own heart was beating too. To realize that these two hearts were truly beating for her, only her, that just broke her usual aloof facade down into sobs.

Her girlfriends woke up, startled, in the middle of the night. It was hard to sleep when your pillow/ blanket started shaking. They thought it was another nightmare. The dark haired girl still got them sometimes, less frequently now since she started sharing a bed (and a life) with her personal space heater and her teddy bear. But much their surprise, Carmilla started just blubbering about how much she loved them. That no matter what happened she would always love them, with all of her undead heart and soul.

Actually, surprise was an understatement. Danny and Laura had been carefully tiptoeing around the word, that word, for weeks now. They were terrified that they'd scare Carmilla off. It was common knowledge that commitments and Carmilla did not mix well. They were fortunate to get Carmilla to even admit out loud that they were officially in a relationship.

Since then, the three of them had been more open with everything. They knew that Carmilla still stumbled over that four letter word sometimes, that instead she said it other ways. "I miss you." "Hurry back." "Cupcake." A neck massage. A cup of cocoa. A walk to a morning class that started at seven in the morning, a time where most other people, mind you, forget vampires, would refuse to wake up at.

Sometimes she told them "I love you" but those moments were rare and far between. Usually after a horrific nightmare, when it took both Danny and Laura to console their terrified vampire. Those were the times where they saw the terror-stricken eighteen year old, forced to grow up all too fast. Those were the times when their presence meant more to Carmilla than they'd ever realize. Where everyone else saw a blood thirsty monster, all they saw was an eighteen year old girl, all alone, surrounded by the darkness, trying to find the light.

Carmilla could never thank them enough for being that light at the end of a very long tunnel. Yes, she had difficulties expressing herself and her thanks sometimes, but she made every effort. She could tell that Danny and Laura made every effort to make sure that she knew that she was wanted and loved, and that perhaps was the greatest present anybody could've given her.

Which was why when she asked the timeless question of "What do you want for Christmas?", Carmilla insisted that she didn't want anything. That their presence was a gift in itself. Being able to spend Christmas day with the two most important people in her life was enough. After so many holidays spent gazing at stars with a bottle of expensive champagne, the presence of another, or more accurately, two others, was a strange but pleasant surprise.

But of course, being the stubborn beings that they were, Carmilla had been handed a gift.

"Its an eBook Reader!" Laura grinned at Carmilla widely, excitement shining through her eyes. Carmilla nodded slowly, prying open the laminated cardboard box to reveal a black tablet in a matching black case. Gently, she pressed the power button on the top edge of the device, as if she might break it. The screen flashed to life and she stared at it, watching it load.

"We know that you love reading your super old first edition books that are basically destroyed because of how many times you've read it," Danny gestured at the pile of very well worn, battered, books on the shelf by the head of the bed. "And I've never seen you treat anything else in this world with more care because you're afraid you might damage the books more."

Carmilla's head shot up at that. She fixed her unwavering gaze on Danny. Something unspoken passed between the ginger and the vampire. They always had this instinctive bond, one that Laura did not quite possess in the same capacity. Maybe it stemmed from their need to protect. But Danny understood.

_I would treat you more gently than I would treat any of my books because I am more afraid of damaging you._

"So we got you this eReader so that you can read the books whenever you want without having to worry about damaging them more. You can just enjoy the books!" Laura chirped in, her enthusiasm overcoming her and causing her to leap onto the bed next to Carmilla. "We even loaded them all onto there. Don't ask how we did it. I think the library is still recovering."

Carmilla selected one of her titles from the main screen and watched as the first place flashed onto the screen. The room was silent as Carmilla figured out the controls, swipe this way to turn the page, press this to highlight. There was a brief pause before Carmilla started swiping back and forth at the screen, brows furrowed.

"Carm? What's wrong? I knew this was a terrible idea! We should've gone with your idea Danny-" Danny clamped a hand over Laura's mouth to prevent her from rambling any further.

"Carm?" Danny asked, Carmilla didn't look unhappy, just slightly confused.

"It doesn't do the thing," Carmilla murmured softly, continuing to swipe back and forth, turning the pages.

"What thing?" Danny felt Laura relax under her hand, and lean back against Danny's hip.

"The flippy flippy thing, it doesn't do the flippy flippy thing" Carmilla explained sheepishly. Her girlfriends looked at her with extremely confused expressions. She sighed and picked up one of her leather bound books from the pile. Then she proceeded to open the book and flip a page back and forth repeatedly at them.

"I don't understand," Laura said finally. The eReader definitely was capable of turning the page.

"There's no noise. The sound a book makes when you turn the page." Carmilla flicked a page gently, producing the gently swish she was referring to.

Danny grinned, "I'm sure there's a setting that we can turn on for that." She flopped onto the bed, curling her long body around Carmilla and Laura's. "Now I'm fairly certain that Laura snuck a copy of _Le Petit Prince_ on to this and she'd like nothing more than for her talented, multi-lingual girlfriend to read it to her in French.

"_Lorsque j'avais six ans j'ai vu, une fois, une magnifique image, dans un livre sur la Forêt Vierge qui s'appelait Histoires Vécues"_

* * *

><p>Despite Carmilla's seeming inability to work the little tablet and her complaints that the thing was always dying (stop hogging the chargers, Xena!), she used it as often as she could, especially in front of her girlfriends. Sometimes though, Danny would come back to the dorm with lunch and find Carmilla, sprawled on the bed, the tablet next to her from where she had fallen asleep, reading. Other times, they would hear her faintly in the background, making little <em>fwip fwip fwip<em> noises under her breath as she turned the pages.

And when Laura joined Carmilla on the bed for another reading of her favourite childhood story in one of the romance languages, you could hear Laura make the _fwip fwip fwip_ noises with Carmilla.

Maybe gifts weren't so bad after all.


	2. Danny

**As usual, this turned out a lot longer than I expected. Also I rambled a little. My a lot. Sorry. This is unbetaed but hopefully I caught all the mistakes. It's almost Christmas! Merry early Christmas! Hopefully I'll have part 3 up before then.**

**Cheers!**

* * *

><p>"Oh my lady, Artemis."<p>

Danny sat in a large pile of green, red and gold wrapping paper. It was a little ridiculous, she had to admit. The sheer amount of wrapping paper reminded Danny of a pile of freshly raked leaves in the fall, ready to be jumped in. Originally she thought she had gone overboard with the wrapping paper when she tried to satisfy Laura's strange obsession with it.

But now, now that she though about it, Carmilla was clearly the real cause of the mess. It didn't seem that bad at first. But now that most of the presents had been unwrapped, you could clearly see that it was Carmilla's fault.

Firstly, there was an unusual amount of presents, the majority of them from Carmilla.

Secondly, Carmilla's wrapping was haphazard at best. You could tell which ones were from the vampire by the way the gift was wrapped. Danny's were simple, orderly, perfect little boxes, all wrapped in the same paper. Well, other than the one that Danny wrapped in multiple layers. Laura's were all very elaborate with ribbons and bows that Danny couldn't undo until she broke out her new set of daggers (courtesy of Carmilla). Carmilla's were wrapped in an abundance of paper, nearly triple the amount that you would usually need. Danny thought that it was largely due to Carmilla's speed wrapping. Sacrificing neatness in favour of sheer efficiency.

Danny had come into the dorm room the night before to Carmilla wrapping the last present. Fortunately it was Laura's gift and Danny didn't get kicked out. What didn't Danny did get though, was a first hand viewing of how Carmilla wrapped a present. It was kind of like how Laura wrapped food in plastic wrap: with too much. Sides were overlapped, edges creased at odd angles. As long as the present was completely hidden was what the vampire was going for. It certainly did not help that the presents were of odd shapes and Carmilla didn't put them into boxes.

Carmilla's excuse was that she spent too much time picking out their gifts from her secret stashes hidden everywhere that she had been unable to wrap them nicely. Danny thought that Carmilla was just bad at wrapping and maybe a little distracted by the lengthy roll of ribbon that Laura left on the desk. The ribbon did resemble yarn, so who knows?

Danny helped Carmilla shove all her weirdly shaped gifts underneath the miniature fake Christmas tree before Laura got back. Laura had wanted a real one, like the one that sat in the middle of the living room in the Summer Society house. But when she was reminded of how small room 307 was, coupled by the fact that they'd also have to clean up all the fallen needles, (lest Perry scold them for the messiness of the room) Laura opted for the fake plastic tree.

Laura had personally decorated the tree with ornaments that she made Danny go into town for. Danny but to lift her tiny girlfriend to put that giant sparkly gold star on top. It was still quite amusing that Laura couldn't reach the top of the tree even though the tree was already a miniature. The journalism major was never going to live that one down.

But still, to get so many gifts on Christmas day, especially gifts that were not things like sweatshirts, track pants, a copy of the latest and greatest novel, was strangely refreshing. It wasn't that Danny hated the gifts that her Summer Society sisters got her. Their gifts were all things that would be put to good use, but they were also things that were expected, and that sense of surprise was always missing.

Carmilla and Laura never failed to surprise though.

Maybe what surprised Danny the most was how at home she was with them. How she could be herself, entirely, wholly and completely. That they would not judge her for what she was and more importantly was not. She could be weak with them.

When Danny lived in the Summer Society house, there was just this nagging sense of exhaustion. While her official title was the Vice President of the outdoor recreation department, a lot, actually make that all, of the sisters looked to her as the leader. As the unofficial leader, Danny was the epitome of strength. To the members of Summer Society anyways.

Sometimes that was exhausting, having to be that brave, formidable, fearless, spear-wielding, protective, knight in shining armour. What was even more exhausting was trying to keep that armour on at all times. Danny had to be strong all the time in the Summer Society house. It was a part of her nature, to care for everyone and to protect them.

Boy troubles? Danny.

Girl troubles? Danny.

Trouble? Danny.

Who made sure all the girls were on top of their school work? Danny.

Who made sure all the girls were getting enough sleep? Danny.

Who made sure all the girls were eating properly? Danny.

Who was the first one to step up when things needed to be done? Danny.

Who was the last one back when things were all done? Danny.

Who was the first one to take the blame and the heat? Danny.

Who looked out for the girls? Danny.

Who looked out for Danny? Danny.

It was exhausting beyond imagination.

What Carmilla and Laura provided was a place where Danny didn't need to be her usual protective, courageous, tenacious self. Sure, Danny made sure that Laura wasn't staying up too late writing papers or that Laura was actually doing those projects that were due in a few days. That she was eating something other than cookies and grape soda (somehow Danny had managed to sneak apples and bok choy into Laura's regular diet). She made sure that the laundry was getting done, the fridge was constantly full of blood, the shower drain wasn't clogged and that all traces of garlic was far from room 307. Occasionally, she even made sure that the walk to class was safe from zombie fungus and monstrous insects.

But Carmilla made sure that Danny let loose sometimes, that something that was due tomorrow meant that she could do it tomorrow. Laura helped her realize that a little sugar never really killed anybody and a cookie with a mug of hot cocoa really hit the spot after a long day.

Most importantly, they were there when Danny had nightmares. After the whole incident with the dean and the Lophiiformes, it was unsurprising that Danny's nightmares got worse. They didn't look at her with pity or judge her when she did. Room 307 could basically be the nightmare support room. All three of them got nightmares, of varying degrees. Maybe that's why they meshed so well together.

Danny could remember all those nights she spent running outside after a particularly nasty nightmare. It would always be a spur of the moment decision. Each time, Danny thought she'd be able to fight the urge to get out of the building. But the feeling off suffocation, the feeling that the four walls of her room were too small, that they were closing in on her, would overwhelm her and she'd go tearing out of the house. Most times she would be improperly dressed, lucky to have a pair of shoes on.

She remembers having to spend a week at the hospital after a nightmare in the middle of winter. Fortunately she had no lasting effects of that misadventure. But she tries to keep it under control in her room in the attic instead. Nightmares only increased in frequency and intensity.

Then she started dating Carmilla and Laura. Shortly after, she moved into their dorm.

The first time she has a nightmare, she completely loses it, flinging herself out of the dorm and down the hall in three seconds flat. Usually she had it under control. But this nightmare is worse than anything she's ever had. Carmilla and Laura, confused and scared, give chase. Carmilla finds her, twenty minutes later, huddled under a tree, whimpering. They walk back to the fountain of Olympus, where Laura was perched on the edge, worrying where her girlfriends could've gone.

Nobody said anything on the walk back to their dorm. They were pressed against each other, a tangle of limbs as they walked. When they got back, Danny was forced to sit on the bed, wrapped up in a blanket, while Laura fussed over her and Carmilla made hot cocoa. It took a lot of coaxing in order to get Danny to sit down. The redhead's first instinct was to apologize for making them worry and come after her.

Her second instinct was to do all the fussing, making sure that Laura hadn't caught a cold from being out in the chilly night in nothing but flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt. Then she wanted to make the hot cocoa.

Carmilla all but tied her down onto the bed in her frustration but it was Laura, with her soft eyes and gentle touch, that got their girlfriend to settle down on the bed. But maybe what Danny loved the most was that they didn't ask her any questions and they didn't make her talk about it. She was content to curl up with her two beautiful girlfriends with a mug of hot cocoa and just bask in their presence.

Danny didn't have to talk about it for nearly a week. Until her second nightmare in room 307. Thankfully her nightmares had seemed occur less frequently since the start of her relationship with Carmilla and Laura. Unfortunately the intensity seemed to be unaffected.

She woke up in the middle of the night, eyes wide, chest heaving and sweat dripping down her face. Carmilla was already up, heating a glass of milk in the microwave. Laura had her arm around Danny's shoulders, gently brushing the hair out of her sticky face and whispering comforting words in her ear. They don't ask her anything. Carmilla presses the warm glass into her hand and lifts Danny's legs so that they rest over her own.

"I'm a failure." Carmilla stares at her with a clear frown on her face. Laura shakes her head and plants a kiss on Danny's temple. "That's my nightmare. That everyone in my life realizes what a failure I am. Originally it was just my family: my parents, my siblings. Then my friends and classmates. Then my sisters. Lately, it's been you two."

"Is that why you push yourself so hard?" Carmilla begins gently massaging Danny's calves, making small circles with her hands.

Danny nods silently. She had no room for mistakes. Mistakes were costly, failing was costly. She had a job to do, people to lead, people to protect. She was strong.

"You are perfect, Danny. You're perfect to us. You don't have to change yourself or try to do everything. You just be yourself. We fell in love with you. Not some idillic version of you. But the living, breathing, orange-devouring, insanely tall, athletic, beautiful Danny Lawrence. If you need a break, take a break. We won't consider you weak for taking a break. We all need breaks." Laura reached down and took one of Danny's hands in her own. She squeezed it gently, reminding Danny that she was here.

"Yeah, sometimes it seems like we don't need protecting. That I don't need protecting. But cupcake's right. This relationship wouldn't work without you. We need you, Danny. I need you. Sometimes I look at you and I'm amazed that we're in the same room together. That you would spend time with me. And I'm absolutely honoured. Even if you fail, you're still Danny Lawrence. You're still mine. You're still ours, no matter what. Nothing you could do could ever make us stop loving you." Carmilla reached out and took Danny's other hand with a small smile.

_I'm not a failure. I have Carmilla and Laura, I have already won_.

Since then, the routine for when Danny had a nightmare was solidified. Danny ran away a lot less frequently, but it still happened. Carmilla would effortlessly follow her tall human, moving silently beside her, making sure that she would be fine. Occasionally, Danny would run herself into the ground and pass out in sheer exhaustion. Carmilla would scoop up the ginger without much effort, Danny's face pressed into the crook of her neck, and carry her back to the dorm. Most times they would return, tightly wound around each other.

Laura knew she wouldn't be able to keep up with Danny's long strides when she ran. So she opted to stay back. A mug of hot cocoa or milk was prepared. Depending on how bad the nightmare was, how fast Danny tore out of the room and long she was out running, a splash of Carmilla's brandy might be added. Two splashes if Danny returned in Carmilla's arms.

In the winter especially, the little space heater would be cranked up and a pair of Danny's thick woollen socks she used for hunting were draped on top. Danny would be deposited onto the bed, changed into dry clothes and wrapped snugly into blankets while Laura put the socks onto her feet and warmed all her extremities. Carmilla would get changed and they'd all curl up while Danny finished her drink.

When Danny passed out on the run, she'd wake up to the feeling of someone's breath against her neck, socks on her feet and a cocoon of warmth all around her. Also the feeling of someone watching her. Carmilla, curled tightly into her side, wide awake, watching them with a fond smile on her face.

Nobody made a big deal of it, it was routine. Nobody commented on routine. They didn't treat Danny like she was anything less. Danny was still the knight in shining armour. Their knight in shining armour, but she got to take the armour off when she walked through the door of 307 and just be regular old Danny Lawrence.

Nightmares occurred once every week. Then every two weeks. Then once a month. Then maybe once every few months. Carmilla went with Danny on her daily 5K runs sometimes, just for routine's sake. And who could say no to spending an hour with Danny Lawrence in running shorts and a tank top? It amused Danny endlessly when Carmilla nearly ran into a tree because she was watching the ginger so intently.

What currently amused Danny though, was loose piece of wrapping paper stuck stubbornly to the back of Laura's hair. Carmilla had the sense to remain curled up on bed, away from the heaps of paper. Idly, the vampire reached out and removed the offending piece of paper from the tiny human's hair.

"Carm!" Laura huffed and stared down at her vampire girlfriend. Carmilla had the good graces to at least look sheepish. "How am I supposed to compete with a three hundred and thirty-four year old vampire with an endless pool of resources." She really should've known that it would be something extravagant when Carmilla told Danny to save the long and weirdly shaped present for last.

"Cupcake, this is not a competition. Besides. I think Big Red there, quite enjoys your knitted creations," Carmilla quirked her eyebrow at the blue and purple socks, toque, scarf and mittens on Danny. They were all hand knitted by Laura and in the Summer Society colours. Laura was especially proud of the socks. The socks were created to be extra warm and fluffy, for _those_ nights. Just in case.

"Where did you get Peleus' Sword?" Danny pulled off her new mittens in order to grip the navy blue hilt without dropping the wickedly sharp blade. The sword itself was a gleaming silver, complete with an intricate golden guard and pommel. Danny recognized the insignia on the sword immediately, she had spent years staring at the various symbols adorning the walls of the Summer Society house.

"On one of my trips through Greece at some point," Carmilla grinned, all of her different journeys started to blur together at one point or another. "I figured that I couldn't let a legendary sword fall into the hands of just anyone. But a tall, gorgeous Summer Huntress with a penchant for sharp things? I think she's the only one who's worthy."

Her smile was wiped off of her face when Danny dropped the sword with a clang and lunged forwards, fusing their lips together passionately. The make out session lasted for several moments, with Carmilla being knocked flat onto her back as Danny explored her mouth quite enthusiastically. They broke apart when Laura wormed her way in between them, clearing her throat impatiently, not wanting to be left out.

"I knew that sword was lucky," Carmilla chuckled as Laura peppered her face with butterfly kisses.

She would later rescind that statement when Danny stole all three boxes of Christmas oranges from the Zeta's Christmas party. Carmilla and Laura watched her from the window as she sprinted, new toque on her head, brandishing her new sword (which had an orange impaled on the top of it) and screaming "FOR CITRUS" at the top of her lungs.


	3. Laura

**Merry Christmas (Eve)! Here's my present to you all: the last instalment of the Presents series. It also turned out longer than I had wanted. But that's cool. So this'll probably be my last fic for a while. I'm actually going to spend time with my family instead of holing up in my room frantically trying to write stuff. But don't worry. I have plenty of fics in the works, just not completed. The next few will definitely be long fics, at least as long as Roommate From Hell, so watch out for those. Thanks for reading!**

**Cheers!**

* * *

><p>"Just exactly how many presents did you get me, Carmilla Karnstein?"<p>

Laura Hollis sat amidst a mass of torn wrapping paper and an equal, but seemingly unending mass of Christmas presents. At first she thought it was cute that her girlfriends had listened to her rant about how much she enjoyed tearing paper off gifts and actually used said paper. But now, maybe she regretted it a little bit. Maybe a lot. Especially because they were going have to clean up this mess after.

A plate of freshly baked Christmas cookies were also under the mess somewhere as well. Laura should've just left it on the the bookshelf where it'd be safe, instead of bringing it into the war zone. Half of the delicious baked goods were from Perry, hand delivered in a neat little parcel this morning. Laura had been the one to answer the door at seven-thirty in the morning. The journalism major was also the only one of room 307 to be up at such a ridiculous hour. But the cookies were still warm and filled the room with its sugary scent.

One thing led to another, and Laura soon found herself with her own plate of heavily frosted and sprinkled cookies. Who knew that Easy-Bake oven that she tucked in the bottom of her suitcase would actually come in handy. The smell of freshly baked sugar cookies would eventually wake Danny. Who eagerly scrambled out of bed, upending Carmilla in the process.

Danny Lawrence had a sweet tooth that could rival Laura's. Usually Danny kept it in check with a ridiculous amount of oranges. _Oranges are sweet too._ Danny protested that one time that she offered Laura a slice of her tasty fruit. Laura turned down the fruit with a look of disdain. Danny didn't give up. Once a week, she'd try to get Laura to eat the fruit, a fruit, any fruit.

Laura smiled fondly at her two girlfriends, she ducked as another wad of wrapping paper shot past her face with far too much force to be humanly possible. Carmilla raised her eyebrows at the tiny human innocently from her perch atop the bed. A candy cane that had been stolen off of the tree was clenched between her teeth. For a vampire who claimed she hated all the fuss over Christmas and the holidays, she did seem to be enjoying herself.

Danny's choice of Christmas candy was a Terry's Chocolate Orange that was roughly the size of her head that Laura bought for her. Oranges and chocolate? Laura knew that her ginger giant would never be able to resist. The pace that Danny was going through the massive chocolate orange was a little alarming though- almost a quarter of the way done and still going strong. Well, as long as Laura didn't have to hold her hair back when her stomach finally decided that a basketball sized chocolate orange was too much.

If you had told the Laura of several months ago that she would be dating two very attractive girls at the same time, one who was a seductive three-hundred year old vampire and the other a bronzed lit TA, she would've called you insane. Well, also if you told her that the dean of her school was actually a bloodsucking vampire who was kidnapping girls to sacrifice to a giant devouring light. But what could you do?

These two girls were complete mysteries to Laura at first. The broody, reclusive roommate who refused to say more than a few words to her in passing and the restrained lit TA who watched her from across the room. They were interesting for sure. But Laura could not for her lifetime, figure either of them out. What drew her to them? Who exactly were they? They were both giant mysteries and as a budding journalist, Laura was determined to find out.

The Laura of today was thankful that she had been so driven to solve these enigmas. If she had thought they were interesting before, they were so much more than that after she got to know them. She was also thankful, well as thankful as one could be about the whole virgin sacrifice thing, of her situation today. If you gave her the choice to go back in time and pick a different university, she wouldn't do it. Silas was her home, now and perhaps forever. She wouldn't trade it for the world, especially since this university gave her these amazing friends and fantastic girlfriends.

Silas University was a welcome change from the overbearing house that she grew up in. Her dad meant well, but a caged bird who could never spread her wings and fly never really knew what being a bird was like. Silas was far from home, far enough that her dad wouldn't come visit her on a whim. Far enough that she could do whatever she pleased with whomever she wanted whenever she wanted. That was enough for her.

Or so she thought.

Maybe what she loved about her girlfriends so much was that they were always pushing her.

_You can do it, Laura. _

_Let me show you something new, Cupcake. _

Carmilla was always there egging her on. Bad decision? _Oh please, Cupcake. This is a normal decision for me._

Anytime Laura was unsure of something, Carmilla was there at her side with a gentle smile and advice. _You don't live to be three-hundred and thirty-four years old without learning a little something. _When it wasn't advice, it was a little bit of encouragement with a brief kiss to the cheek. Carmilla knew that Laura didn't get to go out much when she lived with her dad. And as much as Laura denied it, it became rather evident when Carmilla took Laura to her a concert for one of their first dates.

It wasn't anything extravagant, (Laura insisted that Carmilla wasn't allowed to use her vampiric benefits for date nights or how would she ever compete) just a picnic in the clock tower, followed by the concert for the local symphony. Laura looked so lost and out of place as Carmilla guided her to their seats. And Laura was lost, there was a fair amount of people present and there were all kinds of instruments and people in suits and dresses milling about.

The closest thing to a legitimate symphony that Laura had seen was her high school marching band, which she was a part of. It turned out that the crash cymbals didn't take much talent to play at all.

It wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, Laura knew that Carmilla had seen far more famous symphonies and probably was acquaintances with the composers of the pieces that they were listening to. But to Laura, this was the best symphony she had ever heard, simply because Carmilla was there.

Carmilla wouldn't tell her until much much later into the relationship, but that concert was also her favourite, for the same reasons.

Of course, that was one of Carmilla's safer adventures that Laura took part in. There was the one time that Laura got curious about the Swim Team's locker rooms. There were some rumours floating around that the janitor of the locker rooms was actually a group of Kappa, which Laura asked Carmilla about. The vampire shrugged, she paid no attention to the Swim Team and their Japanese water demon janitors. They had never been of any interest in the past, mainly because they were never in her way.

But of course, Carmilla said nothing about the possible dangers of such an investigation. It wasn't until a campus wide lock down later and a wrestling match with a very irritated, blue Kappa- where Carmilla learned that the strength of an angry Kappa is very nearly equivalent to vampiric strength, did they decide to steer far away from the locker rooms.

At least they confirmed the rumours.

Carmilla was this worldly, daring, all or nothing creature. She firmly believed that everything should be experienced at least once, if not more than once. Recklessness was her strong suit but half of the experience was that rush, the moment of panic. She was the do now, worry about the consequences later. The consequences can meet her undead vampireness and suck it.

She was the _oh Laura, you haven't done that yet? Let's do it then._ Regardless of how idiotic Laura's idea was at first. Especially if Laura's idea was idiotic. But she was always there at the end to haul Laura back to her feet with _a let's do it again._

Danny on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Yes, Danny knew about Laura's childhood and how she didn't get to do much because of her dad. It took Danny a while to realize that Laura was right, she had a dad, Danny did not need to become one as well. But it was in Danny's nature to look out for people, for her friends, especially for her girlfriends. Sometimes she couldn't help it, but she was better now.

_Work hard, play hard._ That was Danny's motto, specifically in that order. She was always sprawled across the bed, nose deep in a text while Laura was hunched over her laptop. Her easy smiles and gentle reassurances were especially welcome when Laura had assignments due and not a lot of time. _I had that prof last year, I'll see what I can do._ Carmilla had been an excellent influence on Danny it seemed. While Danny was still very much against cheating (Laura was too), it was physically impossible for her to not help her girlfriends. Especially when they needed her.

Especially that one time Carmilla and Laura got lost in the Historical Battles section of the Library after hours. In their defence, it was an accident. They had meant to only get some research on the Brownies who apparently ran all the laundromats on campus. But one thing lead to another, and before they knew it, night had fallen and the doors had slammed shut.

Laura just had this nagging feeling that taking a left at the Romantic Era section was a bad idea. Her feelings were confirmed when they wound up in the middle of a full blown war between the hardcover books and paper backs in the middle the Historical Battles section. The books mutually decided that it was a better idea to try to kill the two intruders rather than to destroy each other. Laura called for back up.

_Omw with SumSoc. ETA: 34 seconds & counting._

A particularly vicious copy of _Mein Kampf _was shooting razor sharp pages at Carmilla like it was a gatling gun. Carmilla had taken refuge behind a marble statue of the Duke of Wellington. They were actually quite surprised that the statues and other decorations hadn't come to life and join the battle yet. "Danny just texted me, her and the Summer Society are on their way." No sooner had those words left Laura's mouth, an echoing crash could be heard over the din of the battle.

Danny Lawrence, in all of her war painted glory, stormed into the hall with a torch in one hand and a spear in the other. Her hair was slightly ruffled and there was a small cut on her cheek, but otherwise she looked fine. Actually more than fine, Laura felt her mouth go dry at the sight of Danny shish-kebabing several hardcovers with her spear.

After that incident, Carmilla and Laura were 'grounded' for a week. Which basically meant they grovelled to Danny for a week because she was seriously unimpressed with being interrupted in the middle of a biweekly Summer Society meeting for the third time in a row with a vague emergency text. But she was never one to hold grudges. If her girlfriends needed her, come hell or high water, Danny Lawrence would always be there.

Danny's idea of an adventure was usually something that she had done before, something that she could maintain some semblance of control over. So Laura and begrudgingly, Carmilla, went camping, hiking, cliff diving and a myriad of other strenuously physical activities. Laura would never admit it, but hang-gliding was surprisingly fun.

Carmilla was the gas pedal and Danny was the brakes. You needed both things for a car to function properly. A car that had one but not the other was useless. Somehow they all balanced out and how exactly the universe aligned so that they would meet was a complete mystery. A wonderful mystery, one that Laura didn't quite feel the need to solve quite yet.

"I bought you exactly enough," came Carmilla's cryptic answer.

"Oh, stop spoiling her," Danny chided gently as she shoved another chunk of her chocolate orange into her mouth.

"How about I spoil you instead?" Carmilla was suddenly pressed up behind Danny, her breath dancing faintly against Danny's ear. Smirking as Laura watched with wide eyes, Carmilla grasped Danny's chin and tilted it so that Carmilla could kiss her with such an intensity that it took Laura's breath away.

Laura cleared her throat and they broke apart, Danny looking a little flushed and dazed. Carmilla grinned and licked her lips, "Tastes like chocolate oranges."

"Behave, or I'll make Laura use those furry handcuffs you gave her on you," Danny grumbled, having realized that Carmilla had stolen the chocolate from between her lips.

"Maybe I ought to misbehave instead," Carmilla wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. That earned her a slap to the arm from the ginger.

"Carm...? Danny...?" Laura stared at the open present sitting in front of her lap, mouth falling open. It was an photo album. Inside were a lot of pictures, documenting Laura's life. Each photo was meticulously labeled with a location, date and who was in it. Some of the writing was in a familiar loopy cursive, some of it was in neat script.

Her girlfriends smiled down at her as Laura flipped through the album. Pictures from when her parents were dating- she was a spitting image of her mom. Pictures of their graduation and then wedding. Pictures of a very pregnant Mrs. Hollis. Then pictures of a baby her. A big happy family. Then Laura was growing up. Mom was missing, but her dad was still smiling with her in every picture. As Laura flipped to the last page that had pictures on it, she noticed a there was an additional picture that she didn't remember taking.

It looked like a selfie- Danny was holding the phone. It was the three of them, all curled together in bed. Laura was clearly asleep in between her two girlfriends, face burrowed in Carmilla's neck while Carmilla stared at Danny being a dork. At that moment, Laura felt like she was the luckiest girl in the world.

Silas University was truly a mysterious place. But it was her mystery.


End file.
